Exuberant cheers ring out as the thwack of leather on willow pierces the air on a glorious September afternoon. You could be forgiven for thinking you’re on an English village green – except that the action is taking place in a small town north-west of Warsaw that has emerged as the unlikely cradle of Polish cricket.
Stare Babice will never rival Lord’s in terms of prestige or grandeur, yet it is here in a far-flung field that the country’s growing band of cricket enthusiasts gather each weekend to pursue their passion.
In all truth, they have had little choice. “The sports and recreation facility in Stare Babice is the only place we’ve found that has been willing to host a cricket league,” says Tarun Daluja, the driving force behind Poland’s cricket scene. “We don’t have practice nets, so all we do is play,” he adds.
That transpires to mean around 130 matches during a season that runs from the start of April to - weather permitting - the beginning of October. “Of course, we sometimes need to do cosmetic work on this pitch, but it holds up well,” says Daluja.
In all truth, they have had little choice. “The sports and recreation facility in Stare Babice is the only place we’ve found that has been willing to host a cricket league,” says Tarun Daluja, the driving force behind Poland’s cricket scene. “We don’t have practice nets, so all we do is play,” he adds.
That transpires to mean around 130 matches during a season that runs from the start of April to - weather permitting - the beginning of October. “Of course, we sometimes need to do cosmetic work on this pitch, but it holds up well,” says Daluja.
A bigger enemy is time itself: “We’ve got 14 hard ball teams that compete in four tournaments altogether, which means that there are days we start playing at 6.30 a.m.,” says Daluja.
No-one, however, is complaining; for those that partake, the mere opportunity to swing the willow compensates for this inconvenience.
“I grew up with cricket back home in Mumbai, only to later lose touch with it when I began my studies,” says Shelako Almedia, a player for the Warsaw Hussars. Moving to Poland 15 years ago, and then staying after finding love, it was only here that the former banker-turned-FRONTEX analyst reconnected with his sport of choice.
No-one, however, is complaining; for those that partake, the mere opportunity to swing the willow compensates for this inconvenience.
“I grew up with cricket back home in Mumbai, only to later lose touch with it when I began my studies,” says Shelako Almedia, a player for the Warsaw Hussars. Moving to Poland 15 years ago, and then staying after finding love, it was only here that the former banker-turned-FRONTEX analyst reconnected with his sport of choice.
“I was looking for things to do during the pandemic, so when restrictions were first eased I found out about the existence of the Hussars,” he says. “As strange as it sounds, it was in Poland that I rekindled my passion for the sport.”
The Hussars have been a lifeline to more than just Indians such as Almeida. “The club is a melting pot,” he tells TVP World. “We’ve got players from South Africa, Australia, the UK, and even Poles.”
The Hussars have been a lifeline to more than just Indians such as Almeida. “The club is a melting pot,” he tells TVP World. “We’ve got players from South Africa, Australia, the UK, and even Poles.”
This last group is perhaps the most unexpected given the country’s lack of cricketing pedigree. Yet while the sport remains a novelty to most Poles, the few that have embraced it have done so with enthusiasm.
“It was while randomly watching Eurosport 12 or 13 years ago that I first came across cricket,” says Jakub Błażejczyk of the Hussars. “I got interested and ended up searching online where I could play.”
This led him to contact the Warsaw Cricket Club. “I got the idea that they couldn’t understand why a Polish guy had turned up, but after a while another Pole also joined. Then another.”
“It was while randomly watching Eurosport 12 or 13 years ago that I first came across cricket,” says Jakub Błażejczyk of the Hussars. “I got interested and ended up searching online where I could play.”
This led him to contact the Warsaw Cricket Club. “I got the idea that they couldn’t understand why a Polish guy had turned up, but after a while another Pole also joined. Then another.”
Encouraged to split off to create the Hussars, Błażejczyk is now one of the Polish pioneers that have taken cricket to heart.
“It’s so different to any of the other sports that are popular in continental Europe and that’s part of its attraction,” he says. “Because it involves hitting a ball, catching, running, there’s something about it that appeals to the most primary of senses. When I tell my Polish friends about it, I joke that it features elements of extreme sport.”
“It’s so different to any of the other sports that are popular in continental Europe and that’s part of its attraction,” he says. “Because it involves hitting a ball, catching, running, there’s something about it that appeals to the most primary of senses. When I tell my Polish friends about it, I joke that it features elements of extreme sport.”
Błażejczyk’s words are prescient. Just minutes later a member of a TVP World crew is felled by a stray ball whacked for six. If you thought cricket was boring, then think again.
That people like Błażejczyk have fallen for the sport is music to Daluja’s ears. “You need good domestic players to open the gates for other Poles,” says Daluja. “If you’re just playing with expats all the time, the game will never expand in the way that it should.”
That people like Błażejczyk have fallen for the sport is music to Daluja’s ears. “You need good domestic players to open the gates for other Poles,” says Daluja. “If you’re just playing with expats all the time, the game will never expand in the way that it should.”
Expats, however, are hard to escape. If cricket is growing in popularity, much of this is owed to the soaring numbers of Indians that are moving to Poland for both business and study – according to some estimates, the country’s total Indian population stops just shy of 40,000. Daluja himself theorizes 15,000 Indians now live in Warsaw, though some sources suggest more.
First arriving in Warsaw in 1988 to study, Daluja found himself staying on. “It was a time of extraordinary change,” he says. “After finishing my master's degree from Warsaw University of Technology, I found work and got married - with Poland such an emerging country, it was the right thing to stay.”
Enthralled by the excitement of those times, Daluja made Poland his home, later setting up a successful wholesale business. “But as much as I loved Poland, I thought I’d have to forget about cricket - I simply never dreamed that I’d be able to play it here.”
First arriving in Warsaw in 1988 to study, Daluja found himself staying on. “It was a time of extraordinary change,” he says. “After finishing my master's degree from Warsaw University of Technology, I found work and got married - with Poland such an emerging country, it was the right thing to stay.”
Enthralled by the excitement of those times, Daluja made Poland his home, later setting up a successful wholesale business. “But as much as I loved Poland, I thought I’d have to forget about cricket - I simply never dreamed that I’d be able to play it here.”
The realization must have rankled. “Like most Indians, I love my cricket,” says Daluja. “I was the captain of my school side; when I was growing up, the most important things in my life were my studies and cricket.”
However, he would not go long without. Discovering an organization called the British Country Club, Daluja returned to the crease in 1992 as a guest of his British associates. Playing alongside Brits, South Africans, Australians and a handful of other Indians, Daluja joined a string of games, including matches contested in Austria and the Czech Republic. Informally, this band of friends settled on calling themselves the Warsaw Cricket Club.
“But at the start of the millennium, Warsaw began changing,” says Daluja. “The original core of expats began settling down with families or just moving onwards. At the same time, a few more Asians started coming here.”
However, he would not go long without. Discovering an organization called the British Country Club, Daluja returned to the crease in 1992 as a guest of his British associates. Playing alongside Brits, South Africans, Australians and a handful of other Indians, Daluja joined a string of games, including matches contested in Austria and the Czech Republic. Informally, this band of friends settled on calling themselves the Warsaw Cricket Club.
“But at the start of the millennium, Warsaw began changing,” says Daluja. “The original core of expats began settling down with families or just moving onwards. At the same time, a few more Asians started coming here.”
Despite this gradual influx of Indians, it would take several more years before the next step was taken. “I decided to invest more time into the Warsaw Cricket Club, and in 2011 we held the first Polish T20 Cup (T20 being a shortened version of the traditional game),” says Daluja. “After that, there was no looking back.”
Triumphs were many. When an English club visited Warsaw for a series of matches that same summer, they found themselves on the wrong end of defeat. “They were left in awe of the quality of Polish cricket,” says Daluja.
Buoyed by this success, and playing as the Polish National Team, Daluja and co. visited Bulgaria the following year for the Euro T20 Cup. Though entering as underdogs, they won the whole thing.
“We set a standard, and even though our average age was 40 we played really well,” says Daluja. “But if the standard was high then, the standard in Poland is even higher now.”
Triumphs were many. When an English club visited Warsaw for a series of matches that same summer, they found themselves on the wrong end of defeat. “They were left in awe of the quality of Polish cricket,” says Daluja.
Buoyed by this success, and playing as the Polish National Team, Daluja and co. visited Bulgaria the following year for the Euro T20 Cup. Though entering as underdogs, they won the whole thing.
“We set a standard, and even though our average age was 40 we played really well,” says Daluja. “But if the standard was high then, the standard in Poland is even higher now.”
The stars were starting to align. “In 2012 I was invited to do some cricket commentary for Eurosport who were showing World T20 Cup, and through that some Polish players joined us. We also began attracting a growing number of Asian students who’d often bring their friends - I said, ‘well why not create your own clubs and we’ll play you’. The number of clubs multiplied.”
In the process, a close-knit community has been formed. “It can be difficult to work together when you’ve got so many people of different cultures and religions, but we do try and help each other out,” says Daluja. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England, etc. Everyone is welcome.”
This reception does not just apply to different nationalities, but different ages as well. Born in Poland to Indian parents, the Warsaw Cricket Club’s rising star, 16-year-old Prince Kewlani, is an example of the new generation of cricketers seeking to make their mark. The Hussars, too, have their own prodigy, Sameer Gaur, a 16-year-old with aspirations to play in the Netherlands.
In the process, a close-knit community has been formed. “It can be difficult to work together when you’ve got so many people of different cultures and religions, but we do try and help each other out,” says Daluja. “It doesn’t matter if you’re from Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England, etc. Everyone is welcome.”
This reception does not just apply to different nationalities, but different ages as well. Born in Poland to Indian parents, the Warsaw Cricket Club’s rising star, 16-year-old Prince Kewlani, is an example of the new generation of cricketers seeking to make their mark. The Hussars, too, have their own prodigy, Sameer Gaur, a 16-year-old with aspirations to play in the Netherlands.
The importance of youth is not lost on Daluja. “Our priority is to join the International Cricket Council (ICC), and I see that happening in the next couple of years, but of equal importance is improving cricket infrastructure so that we can groom young local talent,” he says.
“We’re already talking to schools about introducing cricket, but the problem we face is finding qualified coaches - but that will change in the coming years,” adds Daluja. “If we can meet those goals, the rest will follow.”
As challenging as the task ahead may be, Daluja is upbeat. “I’m optimistic about the future,” he says. “There’s a load of work in front of us, but we’ll do it.”
“We’re already talking to schools about introducing cricket, but the problem we face is finding qualified coaches - but that will change in the coming years,” adds Daluja. “If we can meet those goals, the rest will follow.”
As challenging as the task ahead may be, Daluja is upbeat. “I’m optimistic about the future,” he says. “There’s a load of work in front of us, but we’ll do it.”
More In Sports MORE...
